Before we were angels
by silent romantic
Summary: Kratos and yuan's story about what happened before... everything. NOT SLASH! Spoilers. T for violence. Better summary inside.
1. The beginning

**So I was thinking there needs to be a prequel to ToS, but I'm too lazy to write something that long. So, I'm focusing on Kratos and Yuan. NOT SLASH! I'll eventually add Mithos and Martel as well.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Kratos sat in front of his tent, sharpening his sword, preparing for the upcoming battle. He was a general in the King's army, and as such, he needed to always be prepared. His new soldiers were nervous, that much was obvious. They milled about, some frowning and some making horrible jokes to ease the tension. Kratos knew they were going to fail in this battle. He would sound the retreat as soon as it would be appropriate. He was going to lose soldiers tomorrow, but that happened anyway. There was no way to win, really, in any battle. But Kratos knew he had to send his men into battle or the King would definitely lose the war.

And then a dispatch soldier approached him with a letter from the King. It was several days old, and there was some blood on it.

"What happened?" Kratos asked the soldier.

"Sir, I found a letter carrier killed on the side of the road, obviously killed by bandits. Many of his valuables were missing, along with his provisions, weapon, and armor. I found this letter near him."

Kratos immediately opened the letter and began to read. It told him that the battle was going to happen, but that he was not to lead it. Instead, there was another officer coming to take his place in this one. Kratos was to go to Heimdall. Apparently, they needed to request the elves' assistance with some new weapon. By the look of the soldier standing in front of him, Kratos guessed he was the new officer.

"I'm sure the letter speaks of me. I am lieutenant— "

"I'm sure you are" Kratos said, cutting him off, "but do you really want to lead this battle?"

"It is my duty as a member of this army and a lieutenant. I would consider it an honor."

Kratos looked at him. He appeared younger than Kratos by a year or two, and obviously newly promoted. He tried not to show it, but his eyes told Kratos he was scared. "Fine then."

And Kratos strapped on his sword, got his pack, and walked away. He had a new mission.

**Eh, it was interesting trying to write this. Never written a prologue before. Anyhow, review please. **


	2. Flight from home

**Gah! I need to keep writing. I'm curious how this is going to happen myself ^^**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. At all. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to write this. I would be playing it…**

Yuan walked around Asgard with nothing in particular on his mind. He should have been at home, creating new technologies for the war effort. That was his job, but he really couldn't think of anything that hadn't already been invented. Curse this elven blood! Without it he wouldn't be required to help with magical engineering.

He sighed, and turned around at the edge of town. He needed to check to see if he had gotten any mail (unlikely) and go home. His thoughts began to travel around, wondering how long he had before the King sent people to figure out what was taking him so long to build a model of his latest invention. When he told him he couldn't think of anything… He shuddered at the thought of what could happen. No one cared about half-elves. They were sent to the front lines in battle, no one cared if they were treated like trash or like slaves. That is, no one but the half-elves themselves. But they didn't have any type of public voice.

_This needs to change._ Yuan thought, _something has to change this soon._

There was little hope of that happening. Who would speak for those that couldn't speak for themselves? No one wanted them, because there was always the half that didn't fit.

Yuan brushed his bangs out of his eyes and went to the mailbox. The half-elves were responsible for taking care of their own postal needs, so they didn't get much mail. Inside was a single letter. It didn't have a stamp, or a return address. That meant it was something that was of great importance, and could possibly put the sender in danger.

Yuan opened it immediately.

It said one simple word. Run. There were no other directions, no reason why. It did have a map inside of the envelope, though. There was Asgard, and an arrow pointed towards the forest with the elven word for help written along the arrow.

Yuan ran inside and grabbed a small bag he could hide under his cloak. Inside, he placed enough food for one day, and one rope. He also put his dagger into the secret compartment in his boot.

And just like that, he left the only home he had ever known.

**Life is much more suspense full for Yuan, I must say. Anyhow, please review. There may be another update today, I'm not sure.**


	3. On route

**Updating one story again? That was fast…This wouldn't happen if the third episode of the Tethe'alla portion of the anime form was in ENGLISH. Sorry, momentary dialogue in my head that wound up on the page. Anyhow, disclaimer time. Yuan! Get over here.**

**Yuan: why me? Anyhow, silent romantic owns zip. **

**Me: very true. Sigh. If only I spoke German…**

**Yuan: get over it and write the story.**

**Me: fine. Someone please review, though?**

At first, Yuan did not know where he should go. He wanted to see the world, of course, but he was on the run. He would need to cross enemy lines in order to get to relative safety. Small chance of that! He was running from his king's men, while running to the 'safety' of the opposing kingdom? He wasn't going to make it. Yuan sat down to ponder for a moment. Was avoiding a beating really worth all this running? If they caught him, this would lead to his death. He needed somewhere where it would be nearly impossible to find him… The forest of Heimdall, of course! He had heard stories of the mazelike forest. Besides, the elven area was considered neutral ground. IF he could get there, he would be safe.

As he got back up, he heard a twig snap nearby. Immediately his dagger was in his hand, and he was prepared to unleash a spell. There was no noise for a moment after that. A few moments later, he heard a muffled sob from around the same area. He stopped casting immediately and went to see who was crying.

After searching the bushes for a long time, he looked up. Yuan saw a little girl clutching a teddy bear, and hidden up in the tree above, and quietly crying. It was a half-elven child from Asgard.

"What's wrong, child?" Yuan enquired. The little girl looked down.

She said, "I'm sad because another person must run. This is so unfair to treat us this way."

Yuan looked at her with a sad smile and replied, "Life isn't fair for anyone, least of all us. You should go home. Your parents must be worried."

"They're both gone sir. I have to live with my grandmother now, and she isn't well. Soon I'll be all alone again." And she resumed her crying full force.

Yuan was sad for this child, but she needed to go home before they both got into trouble. And he told her as much. She nodded and climbed down the tree. Yuan was about to walk away when she turned around and ran at him. This resulted in a flying hug. Not expecting her, Yuan promptly fell over. Amazed by the situation, he began to laugh. The little girl looked at him like he had three head, and he just said, "Go home little one. I pray you find some happiness in life." At this, the girl finally left.

Yuan sighed, got up, grabbed his stuff, and walked on towards Heimdall. This was going to be a long trip, if that was any indication.

Kratos' day was nowhere near as exciting. He had gotten to the town of Exire, so he was in neutral territory, but he still had quite a ways to go. Taking the airship to the boarder would have been easier, but Kratos didn't want their enemies seeing him on his way to talk with the elves. That would just cause more strife between the two kingdoms, and they already had enough battles going on for land rights. He had a three or four days journey ahead of him, and he didn't want to waste time, so he immediately set off towards the forest.

**Kratos: wow my paragraph was boring. I seriously didn't do anything that day besides get to Exire?**

**Me: what can I say; it was a long airship ride. Not my problem.**

**Yuan: Please review!**


	4. Meeting

**Author's note: Ok, so this story has had 85 hits, and no one reviewed? Seriously? Please just tell me your thoughts!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except these plot bunnies on parade.**

Kratos headed on his way to Heimdall. He had decided he wouldn't stop at any towns from here on out to get the most time in while walking.

Making his way across the country would prove difficult. Bandits were known to prey here, since there were no soldiers to stop them. Kratos sighed and rubbed his exsphere as he walked. Suddenly, he heard a noise from the forest nearby, and immediately got ready for a fight. A small boy with blonde hair ran out of the forest, clutching a bag very tightly while running. When he saw Kratos, he tried to back peddle, and wound up tripping on a rock. He was soon followed out of the forest by a group of six very angry men, all who were brandishing swords.

"Who are you?" One of the men said.

"Someone of little concern," Kratos replied, followed closely with, "why are you chasing this boy?"

The same man, apparently the leader, shouted, "That brat is a half-elf we found wandering this forest here, so we decided he should be worth a good price. There was a girl, too, but she ran the other direction. The rest of my men are following her."

Kratos got very angry, although he didn't let it show. So these men were slave traders. Kratos looked down to get a better look at the boy. He couldn't be older than 15 years old!

The boy looked very scared, and looked up at Kratos pleading, "Please sir, my sister and I weren't hurting anybody; please don't let them take me!"

Kratos drew his weapon with the grace of a seasoned fighter, and said, "You men will leave this boy and his sister alone. Now."

The leader drew his weapon and charged at Kratos, who deflected the attack with ease. Then, he shouted, "As if! This is my living! They're only half-elves!"

That angered Kratos to no end. Kratos deflected the next attack, and then proceeded to quickly kill the man. He looked at the other men, and got ready for their next attack. Two came charging together this time, quickly followed by the rest of the group, all of which had very poor fighting skills in Kratos' opinion. The last man Kratos disarmed, and knocked to the ground. Kratos looked him in the eye and said, with a voice as cold as ice, "You had best call off the rest of your men, and leave these half-elves alone."

Once the man ran off, Kratos cleaned his blade, sheathed it, and walked over to the boy, who had hidden behind a nearby rock during the battle. "Are you all right?" Kratos asked kindly. When the boy nodded, he added, "Good. What is your name?"

"My name is Mithos." The boy, Mithos, replied. "My sister, Martel, is still in the forest. Um… will you…. Help me find her?" He asked tentatively.

Kratos nodded. He couldn't very well just leave this boy here all alone. He would help him find his sister, but then he must be off to Heimdall.

Yuan was walking through that same forest when he heard someone call for help nearby. It sounded as if the call had came from close by, so Yuan ran towards it after drawing his dagger. He soon reached a small group of two people, one looking up into a tree, the other trying to climb up, where a beautiful young woman was sitting on a branch rather high up. She saw Yuan approach, and called for help again, which caused one of the men to turn and look, spotting Yuan and the dagger.. The first man rushed at Yuan with a sword, and Yuan quickly backed away to dodge. He readied a quick spell to knock out the first man. As he finished the spell and released the mana, he shouted "lightning!" and a bolt came from the sky and struck the man. Then the second man jumped down and struck Yuan with his whip against his back. The impact made Yuan cry out in pain and fall to the ground. Nearby, there was a crashing through the forest, and soon a boy and a man in a purple outfit adorned with the medals that marked him as a general came into view. Yuan fought to get up, and grabbed his dagger once more, even though the strange man had killed the whip wielder.

Kratos looked at the man who was struggling to get up, and cleaned off his sword again, guessing this man wasn't one of the slave traders from before.

Mithos looked up in the tree and shouted, "Martel, you can come down now. We're safe now. Kratos helped me earlier!"

Martel nodded and deftly jumped out of the tree, landing gracefully on her feet. She walked over to Yuan, who had put his weapon away and was now leaning against a tree for support. Grabbing a staff off the ground, she walked over, and quickly cast first aid, healing his wound.

Yuan looked at this strange woman, Martel the boy had called her, and thanked her. Then he looked up at the other two, and asked "What are you called?"

Mithos grinned and said, "My name is Mithos. That's Martel, and this man here is Kratos. What's your name, sir?"

"I'm called Yuan Ka-Fai," Yuan said, "Are you all traveling together?"

Kratos was the one to reply this time, and he said, "No."

"Well, where are you all headed?" Yuan asked.

"Mithos and I are heading towards Heimdall, so we can live in a small half elf community near there." Martel said.

"Fancy that, I'm heading there myself." Yuan grinned, "Where are you heading off to in neutral territory, General?"

Kratos looked at him with an almost annoyed expression, saying, "I'm headed to Heimdall on urgent business for the king of Tethe'alla."

Mithos' face lit up in excitement, "Then we should all travel together! It's safer to journey in numbers anyway!"

Martel smacked her brother's head, saying, "I'm sure he has more important things to attend to then journeying with us."

Kratos sighed. _Well, it would make my journey more discreet to travel in a group. Besides, I can't leave these three to take care of themselves out here when none of them can properly defend themselves. _"It's fine. Let's all travel together.

Yuan didn't trust this human, but then again, he was obviously strong and would be great help in defending the group.

**Yeah, chapter done! Huzzah! Anyhow, if you just spent all that time reading it, leave your opinion!**

**Mithos: We finally showed up!**

**Me: Yeppers. And you're all traveling together. **

**Martel: Things are about to get really interesting, I think.**


End file.
